In The Shadows
by Anime Foxx
Summary: Egypt is on the brink of a war with its neighboring countries. A goddess has been sent down to prevent this from happening and Sanura gets caught in the mess when she tries to discover her forgotten past. plz R&R.
1. Prologue

Summary: It's ancient Egypt. The time of Pharaohs and priests. However recent slaughters of villagers and guards have threatened to break the alliances with surrounding countries. The Gods fear that a war will break out and to prevent the bloody battles The Gods have decided to send a goddess down to find out who is killing the innocent villagers and will team up with a queen and a previously sent down angel to help her stop the war and stop the killer or killers.

**(A/N ha ha long summary ne? This is post Sent Down and Sent Down: Part Two Stories written by my good friend egyptology1996 –check her out here: Fanfiction DOT net SLASH u SLASH ****1197509 It might make more sense if you read that story first to understand Sanura's character)**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the yu-gi-oh characters. I only own my characters and my versions of the Egyptian Gods. Thank you egyptology1996 and shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2 for letting me use Sanura and Ria.

**PROLOGUE**

"Damn it! This isn't good!" A man with green skin clad in a white skirt with bandages partially wrapped around his legs and arms slammed his fists on the round table surrounded by others who attended this meeting. Another man, more like a jackal in humanoid form stood up.

"Osiris, you must calm down! There must be a reason for all this happening." The jackal stated trying to calm the green man down.

"I'm afraid Osiris has a point, Anubis. All these killings lately, all these murders are bound to start something." A woman clothed in a navy dress embedded with crystals said to the jackal calmly.

"If we let this continue, war might start between the countries. Even if there is a cause, humans are too ignorant to realize anything without our help." A werecat stood up, dressed in a crimson red tunic. Her golden tail waved from side to side.

"I agree. We must do something to prevent war. Even if you do not agree with us Anubis, we are bound by our duty to protect the humans who look to us for guidance." Another werecat sitting next the first said. Her fur was black and she also wore a crimson tunic.

"NO! I will not meddle with the affairs of humans. They can handle it themselves!" Anubis spat back.

"But they are still recovering from the attack of Zorc Necrophades! We have to do something!" This time a woman with tan skin and sandy blonde hair stood up.

"Let me go." Everybody stopped.

"What did you say?" Anubis said looking to his beautiful wife sitting next to him.

"You heard me." The woman had long black hair and piercing, crystal red eyes. She stood up silently. "I will go down to the humans' world and prevent a war between the nations."

"What? There's no need to send a goddess!" The woman with blonde hair claimed.

"What should we do? Send an angel down? That may have worked for your servant but this is a whole other matter!" The black haired woman spat back, "We aren't talking about one person this time. When you sent Sanura down you had no control of her actions nor did she have any recollection of her past. We need someone who is able to prevent an entire country from starting war. We can't just send down a servant or even a warrior angel. It must be done by one of us."

"But -"

"Enough!" Everyone turned. A falcon in humanoid form sat proudly at one edge of the large table, "This discussion is becoming tiresome. Though you may not like it Anput is right. We can not risk sending another angel down, It'd be safer not to mention wiser to send down a goddess."

"But Ra - " It was Anubis to butt in this time.

"I'm not putting this up for debate! We will send Anput down to Memphis to get to the Pharaoh and find a way to stop this war." Ra said sternly. With that Ra stood up with the rest of the Egyptian Gods and the meeting was adjourned.

------------------------------------------------------------

A/N Ok that's the end of da prologue. I will warn readers now that I might not update for a while because I tend to have a problem with writers block (Damn writers block!) and I find that I get busy and can't find the time to write so please be patient with me. For those of you who read my other story –Guardians of the Shikon No Tama my story is on hiatus at the moment due to writers block (again, damn you writers block!) I have most of the story planned out I just haven't figured out how to get to that part yet .'''' So until I can figure that out I will be working on other stories (Most of my attention will go to my fictional story called Journey to Pandora) so Ja Ne!

--P.S. I hate the OATs!--


	2. Episode 1

Egyptology1996: Your welcome. I wouldn't have come up with this story if it weren't for your stories :)

Journey Maker: Thank you for your support :D egyptology is my friend so I read her stories all the time (well, most of them anyway lol. Especially Sent Down I was always fighting to get her notebook to be able to read the updates) Then I came up with this little story so yeah.

Enjoy this new installment.

Disclaimer: Don't own yu-gi-oh characters. Nope. So don't ask (or sue) Sanura and Kissa belong to egyptology1996 and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2 (don't ask. Just don't do it) I only own my versions of the egyptian gods/goddesses and my made up extras. Thank you and good night!

In The Shadows

Episode 1

Sanura was out shopping with her daughter, Kissa, as well as Ria and Kisara. They were heading back to the palace when an unusual feeling crept up Sanura's spine. She spun around swiftly, it felt as if they were being followed, but when she looked around nothing seemed to be out of place.

"Sanura? Is everything okay?" Sanura turned back to her friends and realized that all of them had stopped and were staring at her worriedly.

"No. every thing's fine." She said quietly. The group knew something was troubleing her, but they did not bother her anymore. They walked a bit further, chatting away, mostly about their husbands and what was going on around the palace, but Sanura still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. What felt worse was that it seemed like a familiar presence, one that she had felt before, before she had even met Bakura. She still could not remember what had happened to her before Bakura had found lying unconscious in the middle of the sandy desert. She had never really dwelled on that fact, that is until now. Suddenly a voice from behind her broke her out of her reverie.

"You. Girl." Sanura turned to see an elderly woman sitting at a small table just out of one's normal vision. Her face was hidden behind a black cloak and she wore simple silver jewelry.

"You seem troubled. Perhaps I can tell you your future or perhaps, your past." The woman smiled. Sanura was drawn in by the psychics words and sat down on the three legged stool in front of the table. The girls who had noticed Sanura's disappearance appeared by her side in a matter of seconds.

"Sanura, what are you doing? These things are rip offs! They trick you so they can take your money." Ria whispered into Sanura's ear.

"A trick you say? I promise you I am not like those con artists that do petty tricks for a coin or two. I am the real thing." The woman jeered, she then turned to Sanura, "The more you step towards your future, the more you are forgetting your past."

"If you say that you are the real thing then why do you speak in riddles like every other pretender on the streets?" Ria asked suspiciously.

"If I told everything then how would you learn? The road of life is a dangerous one, if you know too much about one's future or past from someone else you might have trouble excepting it. Your mind knows when it is ready and if I give riddles then the person will figure it out when he or she is ready to except any consequences that might arise." The woman had turned back to Ria who was still quite suspicious of the older woman before them.

"I'll do it." Everyone turned to Sanura who had placed two coins onto the table.

"Are you sure about this Sanura?" Kisara asked quietly.

"I'm sure." Sanura smiled reassuringly.

"So," The woman said slipping the two coins into her sleeve, "What would you like to know miss Sanura?"

"I want to know about my past. Before I met Bakura." Sanura said shyly. It felt weird with all of her friends hanging over her shoulder.

"Very well then." The older woman said. She then pulled out a clear, shining gem, only about an inch and a half wide. She said some strange words and the gem turned a pure black. The woman closed her eyes/

"Your past is very unclear. I see a place much like Egypt and yet it is not. It is different somehow. I far away place, a place visited by many and wanting to be visited by the rest. It is beautiful plentiful. You are standing there with another watching over the others. Loyalty, Pride, Honor. Sent down. Desert. Mission. Bakura." The woman's words seemed to be jumbled and made less sense as she went on. Once she had finished she opened her eyes and held out the jewel for Sanura to take.

"That is all I can see. Think about it and as your memory comes back to you the jewel will become clear once more. Tie it to a string and wear it as a necklace, especially when you sleep for that is when your memories are strongest. A strange wind is upon us. I have also seen something else that might affect you. I have seen a woman from the same land as you in a dream. She has come to this land as well, she might be the key to your lost memories, a song she sings. She can change her shape, so search for a woman who sings." The woman explained, "You will know when you hear it."

"How do you know if she knows of me or not?" Sanura said looking up from the jewel.

"Because she spoke of you." The woman said smiling, "Now go, your husbands shall worry if you are gone when night falls." The girls nodded and left for the palace.

"She was kind of creepy don't you think?" Kissa said rubbing her arms to emphasize her point.

"Yeah. What do you suppose she meant? A place visited by many and wanting to be visited by the rest. I've never heard of such a place." Ria said in deep thought.

"I thought you didn't believe in such things?" Kisara teased.

"What? I don't! I just, wanted to know what she meant that's all, it's not like I believe her or anything!" Ria said trying to defend herself. The other woman just laughed at their blushing friend and walked into the palace.

- - - - -

A form hid in the shadows as it followed the four girls to the castle. She had overheard the converation with the psychic. It would be a better idea if she waited until everyone was asleep before she attempted to go into the castle. It would be easy to get past the guards, the problem would lie in getting into the Pharaoh's chambers. She'd need to find any information about the murders around the country. She'd steal any declarations of war as well, just to gain more time.

- - - -

It was late at night and the moon was at its peak, but she could nt sleep. Sanura tossed and turned but something was bothering her. She sat up in her bed and walked to the small balcany connected to her room, very careful as to not wake Bakura who was sleeping next to her. When she got to the balcany, however she saw a strange shadow walking towards the palace gates. The form was playing a flute, it was a strange song and flowed through the palace walls. The guards were collapsed near the gate unconscious. She became scared and ran over to Bakura trying to wake him but he kept sleeping. That was strange. Bakura was always a light sleeper so he'd be able to get up within a moments notice. If anything was wrong he would always be the first to get up and investigate. It must have been that person! Was it casting a spell of some sorts? If so why was she not affected? It did not matter at the moment she had to find and stop the person from doing what ever it was thinking of doing. She raced out of her chambers and down the hall to the entrance of the palace. When she arrived she noticed all the guards had fallen asleep. If the person did not go down the guests' hallway then could it possibly have gone to the Pharaoh's chamber? She wasted no time and headed towards the Pharaoh's quarters. The guards at the doors were also asleep and the door was slightly open. She opened the doors to see a figure clad in all black. Looking through several scrolls that lay upon a desk (A/N: ok I'm not really sure if they had desks in Ancient Egypt, but work with me here.).

"Hey! Get away from there!" Sanura lunged at the figure and managed to pull on it's cloak. The hood came off and Sanura was able to get a good look at the intruder. She was about to attack the intruder again when something stopped her...

TO BE CONTINUED...

- - - - - - - -

Author's Note: MWUHAHAHA! I'm so evil. You'll have to find out what happens next chapter :P Ok for those of you who have just joined us today please read egyptology1996's stories Sent Down and Sent Down Part 2 before reading this story, it will make more sense! Okay? Ok. Now I finally updated this yay! And my Journey To Pandora yay again! Now time to work on my writer's block for my InuYasha story Ja Ne!


	3. Episode 2

-REVIEWS-

egyptology: Haha! But cliffhangers are fun! They keep my readers wanting to read my story! And it's fun to annoy the heck out of them .

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the yu-gi-oh characters. Sanura belongs to egyptology1996 and Ria belongs to Shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2.

RECAP: "Hey! Get away from there!" Sanura lunged at the figure and managed to pull on it's cloak. The hood came off and Sanura was able to get a good look at the intruder. She was about to attack the intruder again when something stopped her...

In the Shadows

Episode 2

It was not out of fear, it was something else but Sanura could not put her finger on it. It was almost as she had been frozen in place as soon as she looked at the person. It had to have been a spell of some sorts, what else could it be? The intruder had long black hair and crystal red eyes.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Sanura asked.

"That isn't any of you concern. Now sleep." The woman waved her hand in front of Sanura and Sanura began to feel dizzy and fell to the floor. Just before she blacked out she saw the woman pick up a scroll from the pharaoh's desk.

-----

"Sanura? Sanura! Wake up!" Sanura opened her eyes slightly to see the figure of Ria, "Oh, you're awake! I was afraid that they had harmed you!"

"They?" Sanura was confused about what the queen was telling her. She looked around and noticed a few palace guards searching the room. She et Ria help her to her feet.

"Yes, the thieves last night. There must of been quite a few of them because they were able to take out all of the palace guards while everyone was asleep." Ria said worriedly, "None of the guards remember what happened though. All they remember is standing guard one minute and passing out the next."

"Sanura!" A familiar voice came from down the hall. Just then Bakura burst through the doors to the room.

"Sanura! Are you okay? I woke up and you weren't there. I went to look for you and the rest of the palace was in a panic!" Bakura gave her a bone crushing hug.

"Bakura, I'm fine... Bakura... choking... not breathing..." Sanura choked out.

"Oh sorry." Bakura let her go and waited for her to catch her breath, "What were you doing in here anyway?" Ria looked at her questioningly as well.

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I went out to the balcony and I noticed a figure at the front gates. I thought it was weird so I went to the entrance. The guards there were all unconscious so I went down the hallway to the Pharaoh's chamber to see if everything was alright and I saw the thief..."

"Why didn't you wake me up? You could have been hurt, or worse..." Bakura interrupted.

"I did but you wouldn't wake up! You were sleeping like a rock!" Sanura glared at her husband.

"Now, now you two." Ria cut in and stopped their bickering, "Sanura, you said you saw the thief, are you sure there was only one? What did he look like? And what was he after?"

"Yes I'm sure. There was only one and I managed to pull the thief's cloak and get a good look at her face..." Both Bakura and Ria were staring at her now, "She had long black hair and pure red eyes." She then noticed that the two were staring at her like she had two heads.

"What!?" Sanura exclaimed

"It's... nothing but are you sure that it was a woman?" Bakura asked suspiciously.

"Yes I'm sure, I can see perfectly fine thank you." Sanura was getting quite frustrated that they thought she wasn't telling the truth.

"Ok, so let's say it was a woman. What was she after?" Ria asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, I was knocked out before I could see what she wanted..." Sanura trailed off, thinking of anything else, "Oh yeah! She took a scroll from that desk over there, I don't know what it was but it must've been important." Sanura pointed over to the desk that she saw the thief at. Ria walked over to the desk and searched it's contents.

"Oh no!" Ria cried out.

"What is it?" Sanura asked.

"The records of thieves and assassins is missing!" Ria searched frantically through the papers in case she had missed any.

"The what?" Sanura blinked, obviously confused.

"They're records that have names and information about many of the thieves and assassins that have been imprisoned for their crimes. They're very dangerous."

"But, why would anyone want to steal something like that?" Sanura asked.

"Any master thief or criminal could hunt them down and use them for things so that the criminal does not have to get their hands dirty." Bakura stated simply.

"My guess is that the one who stole the documents is one of the people killing innocent villages along the borders of our neighboring countries. The other countries have already threatened to start a war. If word of this gets out there might be panic in the streets we must keep this quiet at all costs" Ria said urgently, "We have to find the thief quickly!"

-----

Sanura walked the streets of Memphis in hopes to clear her mind of previous affairs. When Pharaoh Atem had learned of what was stolen he had ordered just about every guard and priest to search for a woman with long black hair and piercing red eyes. Sanura wanted to get away from all the excitement and decided to calm herself and focus on who the woman was. When Sanura had seen the intruder's face something in her clicked, as if she had seen the woman somewhere before. She then remembered the words of the fortune teller the day before.

_**"I have also seen something else that might affect you. I have seen a woman from the same land as you in a dream. She has come to this land as well, she might be the key to your lost memories, a song she sings. She can change her shape, so search for a woman who sings. You will know when you hear it."**_

Could that woman been right? Could the thief she saw really have been the woman from 'the same land as her'? As Sanura thought about it she began to fiddle with the small gem around her neck. When she looked at the black crystal she noticed something off. A piece of the crystal was clear. It was small but noticeable. Then she remembered another thing the fortune teller had said.

"_**That is all I can see. Think about it and as your memory comes back to you the jewel will become clear once more."**_

If the jewel was becoming clear then that thief had to of been the woman that the fortune teller had mentioned! And if that's true then the guards and priests would never be able to find her! She was able to change her shape. How could you find someone like that? Sanura thought for a second and came up with an ideaIf the woman liked to sing then she'll probably hang around the nomad camps just outside of the city. Sanura went back to the castle and when everyone was asleep she snuck out wearing a cloak to conceal her clothes and face.

She walked until she saw the small campfires along the horizon indicating the camps. She walked up and hid in the shadows by one of the horses and kept an eye out for the woman and listened carefully for a song that she recognized. She had planned to stay out of sight but someone spotted her and pulled her up to the center, her hood falling off as well. It was a young girl. She had brown hair the went to her shoulders, tan skin and golden eyes. She wore quite a bit of gold jewelry and they jangled as she bounced or danced. She began to sing.

---

Niiji no wayeh grats, gaivahn

Niiji no wayeh grats, gaivahn

Gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn..

---

Sanura began to sing as well. She had recognized the song and felt like singing it. She didn't think about it at first.

---

Niiji no wayeh grats, gaivahn

Niiji no wayeh grats, gaivahn

Gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn, gaivahn...

---

The girl began to dance and twirl and pulled Sanura along with her while everyone else clapped and began to join in on the singing.

---

Niiji no wayeh grats gaikenah

Lala la lai, lala la lai,

lala la lai, lala la lai, la la la

Niji no wayeh grats gaikenah

Lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, la la la

Jabuji nitou, viriparten goerats, diriparten goerats

Niiji no wayeh grats gaikenah

Lala la lai, lala la lai,

lala la lai, lala la lai, la la la

Nijii no wayeh grats gaikenah

Lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, lala la lai, la la la

Jabuji nitou, viriparten goerats, diriparten goerats

---

They finished the song and took a bow. It seemed as though they didn't care if they had never seen Sanura before. 'It must happen a lot' She thought

The others cheered and told the girl to sing something else. Everyone hushed up as the girl started singing again.

---

if you are lost in your way

deep in an awesome story

don't be in doubt and stray

cling to your lonesome folly

now you're too close to the pain

let all the rain go further

come back and kiss me in vain

mother oh do not bother

hear the chorus of pain

taking you back to proper ways

it's so easy to find

if you could remind me

now you are lost in your way

deep in an awesome story

so I will find you again

kiss you for lonesome folly

---

As Sanura listened she got the feeling that she had heard the song before and the feeling that she was being watched. She looked around quickly and saw a cloaked figure off to the side. It had to be the thief! Something else was drawing her to the figure though and she decided to follow. The person walked off into the darkness and Sanura followed behind not bothering to keep quiet because she was sure the person already suspected that she had followed. They both stopped and the cloaked figure turned to face Sanura. They were some ways away from both the city and the nomad's camp, there was no where to run.

"Who are you?" Sanura asked suspiciously, "And what do you want with the documents you stole"

"You're very persistant. Well then I shall tell you." The person removed their hood, "My name is..."

-----

A/N: XD hahahahaha! you'll have to wait and find out for next time! Although you can probably already guess who it's going to be. but any way at least this one is longer than the last one XP besides I need to get to work on my JTP story because my readers are getting pissed off at me. sigh This is going to be a long summer! Good news though! I'll be updating more this week maybe Wednesday or Thursday (not sure yet) but defineatly that because I'm going to Florida on Wednesday (My mom's driving us down) and We'll be stopping in NC so I'll have internet when we get to the hotel and I'll be writing while we're on the road. So hopefully I will be able to update then but if not I will be able to update once we get to our summer house down there . (That is where ever I can get a connection .;;;;;) anyway this is probably all I'm going to do since it's so boring down there and where our house is there's not really anything there (and no fields to play soccer in T.T) oh well. I hate summer... Ja Ne!


	4. Episode 3

-YAY REVIEWS-

egyptology: hehehe My jobas a friend IS to piss you off. And what do you mean by defiant XP I got the ideas for the songs from Anime (go anime! cough) The first one is called Kelas (Let's Dance) and it's from Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala (it's the movie for those of you who don't know) where the gypsies are singing on the way to the carnival (Just go see the damn movie and you'll know what I'm talking about) and the second song is from .hack//sign I'm not sure where in the series however, I think it's in multiple episodes anyway it's called A Stray Child. And glad to know you hate me :3

ObSeSsEd WiTh ROXAS: uh... not sure how to respond to this one... geez Lea I think you're even more obsessed than Ellie... blink

In The Shadows

Episode 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters, egyptology owns Sanura and Kissa, and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2.

**Last time:** "Who are you?" Sanura asked suspiciously, "And what do you want with the documents you stole"

"You're very persistant. Well then I shall tell you." The person removed their hood, "My name is..."

**Now:**

"My name is... Anput." Sanura blinked once, then twice.

"Huh?" Was all she could manage, "You mean Anput? As in THE Anput? As in the goddess of the dead Anput?" Sanura's mouth hung open slightly as she let the information soak in. Anput merely chuckled at her surprise and confusion.

"Yes, I am the goddess Anput, wife to Anpu and goddess of the dead." Anput bowed slightly.

"Ah, right, I am.."

"Sanura, I know" Anput interrupted.

"But if you're Anput then why do you need the documents that you stole?" Sanura was starting become suspicious of this woman.

"Because the Gods try to not interfere with the lives and ways of man. Anpu is especially strict about it. Even if I could I would never have been able to get the information that I needed." Anput replied solemnly.

"Well if you try not to interfere with humans then what are you doing here in Memphis?"

"Long story short? If we did not interfere Egypt would be destroyed. We could not sit idly by while the people that look up to us for guidance were killed, that is why I came down to prevent the war from starting by stopping it at the source." Anput explained.

"That's the short version? I'd hate to hear the long version..." Sanura mumbled, "What do you mean by the source."

"That is why I took these documents." Anput held up the scrolls she had taken from the palace the night before, "There is someone who is destroying villages and killing innocent lives along the borders of the country. The other countries believe it is Egypt because none of the villages along our border have been attacked. I hoped to find any information through the scrolls. I used a spell to put everyone asleep so I could get in and out of the palace unnoticed. Then you showed up. I hadn't expected you to stay at the palace since you are married to that thief."

"Well, I sort of know the queen and Pharaoh personally... Hey wait if you cast a spell to put everyone asleep how come I wasn't affected?" Sanura asked curiously.

"Probably because you're immune to weaker spells such as the one I used. It takes a powerful spell to get to you." Anput answered.

"Why would that be? I'm a normal person just like everyone else in that palace!" Sanura exclaimed.

"Heh, you my dear are anything but normal. I'm afraid that you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. I'll trust that you'll keep the meeting we've had secret." Anput stepped a little closer.

"What do you mean by..."

"Sleep." Anput waved her hand in front of Sanura's face as she did the previous night and Sanura blacked out. 'Not again' were her last thoughts.

-----

Sanura woke up the next morning in the bed that Bakura and her shared at the palace. 'Did that all happen or was it just a dream?' Sanura looked around and noticed Bakura wasn't there. That wasn't anything new he was usually up at day break. Sanura then looked down and noticed that she was still in the dress that she had worn to the camp the night before. Then she noticed the jewel around her neck had become less clouded and the part that was clear before had grown a bit. She got out of bed and dressed in new attire for the day as she went to search for Bakura. Once she had gotten to the main entrance she noticed Ria talking to one of the guards.

"Hey Ria!" Sanura waved over her friend.

"Hey Sanura how are you this morning?" Ria asked smiling.

"Good. What were you doing just now?" Sanura asked.

Ria sighed, "I was checking the progress of catching the thief who stole those scrolls the other night."

"So how's the search going?" Ria shook her head and Sanura felt a pang of guilt and wanted to tell Ria everything about what had happened last night but then she remembered Anput's words:

_**"I'll trust that you'll keep the meeting we've had secret."**_

Sanura decided to keep her mouth shut and changed the subject, "So, uh, Ria have you seen Bakura around? I haven't seen him all morning."

"Oh, I think Kissa dragged him along shopping with her." Ria said after some deep thought.

"Bakura and shopping? In the same sentence?" Sanura snickered.

"Yeah, Kissa was complaining that she had no one to go with since you were asleep and everyone else was busy around the palace with the theft and all. Being the wife of a guard is a challenge."

"haha! Being the wife of the pharaoh or the wife of a the thief king isn't exactly a walk in the park either." Sanura joked, "What about Kisara? She's not caught up in all this mess is she?"

Ria coughed slightly before blushing, "Nobody's seen Kisara... or Priest Set... all day."

Sanura laughed, "It's about time they got together."

"You say it like it's nothing..." Ria blushed.

"Well Bakura and I've..." Ria smack a hand over Sanura's mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"Don't... you... dare..." Ria glared at her friend and Sanura just smiled widely.

"Oh, come on you can't say you and Atem haven't done it." Sanura winked at the blushing queen.

"Well, we have... but... that's not the point! I can deal with talking about Set and Kisara, but I've seen what Bakura does to you in public, I don't want to know what you and him do in private! Great, you've corrupted my mind with dirty thoughts!" Ria exclaimed while holding her hands over her ears.

"Oh please! Your mind was corrupted long before I came into the picture." Sanura scoffed.

"Well I guess that's true..." Ria said smirking, "Anyway I'll see you around I have to supervise the matter."

"What about Atem? Isn't that his job?" Sanura asked curiously

"He asked me to help with the thievery while he was away tending to the matters along the border" Ria said solemnly.

"Oh well ok, see you later then." Sanura smiled and waved as Ria walked away.

Sanura decided to walk around the city to clear her thoughts. As she walked through the bazaar she found that she couldn't stop thinking about what happened the previous night. She started to play with the small necklace that the fortune teller had given her. That's when she decided that she had had enough! She decided that she had to find Anput again and demand her to tell her what she knew. Sanura was determined and when she was determined nothing stopped her. She ran back to the palace to pack some provisions.

When she got done packing Bakura walked into their room. He looked curiously at Sanura.

"Where are you going?" Bakura asked almost worriedly.

"I'm... just going... away for awhile." Sanura said nervously, waiting for her husband to respond. 1... 2... 3...

"WHAT!?" Bakura exclaimed, "Not without me you're not."

"Bakura it's something I have to do alone." Sanura said calmly, "I'm going to see someone. Don't worry I'll be fine and back home before you know it."

Bakura growled and was about to protest but then he saw his wife's face and couldn't resist.

He sighed, "Fine." Sanura smiled cheerfully, "BUT, you must be back within a week or I'm coming to look for you, got it?"

Sanura smiled wider and flung herself into Bakura's arms, "Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

"I just KNOW I'm going to regret this later" Bakura said quietly.

Later that afternoon Sanura headed out on Anat. Bakura had kind of forced her to take Anat because it was the only horse he trusted and he knew Anat could protect Sanura if need be. Sanura headed into the desert, her first stop would be a small town a ways away from Memphis. It was where all the thieves and evil men went to avoid being caught. If Anput was looking for killers and thieves that would be the place to look. She had arrived there just after sunset the next day. Sanura knew it'd be way to dangerous to travel at night so she found an inn and made sure Anat secured to the post outside before entering. She wore a plain black cloak that concealed her identity. That way she wouldn't have another incident like that time with Bakura's thieves years ago when she was still his slave. She got herself a room and went outside for a while for the inn smelled entirely of alcohol and sweat. She led Anat to a small stable on the side of the inn and took of his bridle and sadle so she could brush him. When she was done he nudged her affectionately and she patted his forehead in return.

Sanura walked out of the stable and decided to get some rest so she could start her search in the morning. Hopefully Anput was still in the area.

"So you came all the way out here alone to find me hm?" A voice rang out from behind her. Sanura turned around quickly coming face to face with a cloaked person who took off her hood to reveal none other than Anput herself.

"Lady Anput..." Sanura lowered her hood as well.

"Please, drop the Lady if you wouldn't mind." Anput said smiling gently, "Now tell me why you are here."

"Anput, I... well... I came here... What I mean is I'd hoped to find out more about my past from you." Sanura said. She looked down at the ground and fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"So you came all this way to learn about your past?" Anput's asked.

"Yes I did. I want... no... I NEED to know." Sanura brought her head up confidently now.

Anput sighed, "There's no way of getting out of this is there."

"No. I came all this way to find out and I'm not leaving until I get answers." Sanura said. She was confident now, sure that she was going to get the answers she wanted.

"Then I guess you're going to have to follow me because I'm not going to tell you." Anput said walking by Sanura as Sanura took in what Anput had just said.

"Wa... wait! What did you say!?" Sanura turned around and jogged up to Anput as they headed back to the inn.

"You heard me." Anput said solemnly as they got to the entrance to the inn.

"But why not!?" Sanura cried out.

"Because," Anput stopped and turned to Sanura, "You must figure out your past on your own! There maybe a reason you don't want to remember and if I told you then what was the point in the first place."

"Wait, what do you mean I don't want to remember? I want to know!" Sanura protested.

"If you truly wanted to then you would have remembered by now! Something is holding you back and until you get rid of that something your mind will probably not want to remember your past. A spell was placed on you to keep you from remembering anything before Bakura found you lying on a dune out in the middle of the desert but once you completed your mission the spell wore off but your mind refused to let you remember. It's in your hands not mine that's why you must find the answers yourself!" Anput scoffed and walked inside the inn leaving Sanura to contemplate what had just happened.

She sighed and walked into the inn and up to her room. So Anput wasn't going to give her answers willingly then she will just have to force them out of her. Sanura soon fell asleep ready to go after Anput the next day.

-----

Sanura had woken up at the break of dawn and got ready within a few minutes. She headed down to the stable hurriedly to find Anput there as well.

"Well it seems we're going to have a guest along with us." She said as she looked at Sanura from the corner of her eye.

"Us?" Sanura asked curiously.

"Yes, us." Anput brought a black horse with a light bay muzzle, "Her name is Blood." Sanura was putting the bridle and saddle on Anat as she listened to Anput.

"That's an.. interesting name." Sanura said as she led Anat out of the small and cramped stable. Anput was already on her horse and was waiting for Sanura outside. She looked at Blood. She was a beautiful horse and shined brilliantly in the sunlight. That's when Sanura noticed the scars on Blood's skin, barely noticeable under her black coat. She must of had an abusive owner before Anput.

"Yes it is." Sanura got on Anat and they rode out of the small village.

--------------------------------------

A/N: Gomennasai!!! I'm sorry for not updating plz don't hurt me ---dodges large, sharp flying objects--- I meant to update a long time ago but I had so much going on. First I had to worry about soccer then my dad got this tube thingy and I had to help him out because my brother is being a bastard right now (I swear he's a girl in disguise and is PMSing right now) anyway... I'm sorry again. Please rell me what you think. I finished writing this chapter at 4:27am so give me a break. Anywho, hope you like it. :3


	5. Episode 4

REVIEWS

egyptology1996: hehehe, I couldn't stop laughing either. I'm still laughing at that chapter XD

ObSeSsEd WiTh ROXAS: expertly dodges thrown objects I'm getting used to this... I love making you wait, just to piss you off hehehe...

In The Shadows

Episode 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters, egyptology owns Sanura and Kissa, and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2.

**Last Time: **"That's an.. interesting name." Sanura said as she led Anat out of the small and cramped stable. Anput was already on her horse and was waiting for Sanura outside. She looked at Blood. She was a beautiful horse and shined brilliantly in the sunlight. That's when Sanura noticed the scars on Blood's skin, barely noticeable under her black coat. She must of had an abusive owner before Anput.

"Yes it is." Sanura got on Anat and they rode out of the small village.

**Now: **

They had been riding for hours and the sun was at it's peak so they decided it was best to take a break and wait out the heat. It was the hottest part of the day. They had found a small oasis that had a pond and a few trees and shrubbery. Anput and Sanura laid down under a palm tree with widely spread leaves to keep themselves cool in the intense heat while Anat and Blood lazed around the pond drinking water every so often.

It had finally cooled down a bit. It wasn't by much but it was enough to ride in. They got on their horses and left the safety and coolness of the oasis. It was only about an hour after they had began riding through the desert when the two saw a small carovan in the distance. (A/N: Can you guess who it is? If you have no idea what so ever read the last chapter where Sanura and Ria are having their conversation! hint hint wink wink nudge nudge 'nuff said :3)

"That's weird. Not many people travel this way." Sanura stated as she squinted to see the tiny dots just above the horizon.

"Hm. Yes it is. And by the size of it I'd say it is someone important." Anput seemed deep in thought as she too watched the objects in the distance bob up and down in the dunes, "Hey Sanura, you said you'd follow me until you got answers right?"

"Yes, of course! I won't leave you alone until I find out about my past!" Sanura barked out. Anput then looked over her shoulder with a smirk plastered on her face and Sanura just knew she was in trouble.

"Then for your sake I hope that horse of yours can keep up."

"Wha!?" And with that Anput kicked the sides of her horse and Blood took off in a dead run and damn was she fast! Sanura kicked Anat determined to keep up with Anput.

-----

"Sire! There seem to be two figures coming towards us from the north at a high speed!" A guard ran up to the lead horse and it's rider. (A/N: If you still don't know who this after reading the last chapter you're pretty dense. Think about a minute)

"Be prepared they might be robbers!" The Pharaoh, who was just heading back to his Palace in Memphis, warned the guards. The small black dots in the distance were heading towards them at an incredible rate. They appeared to be a little to the left of them and just ahead. The black dots soon turned into two women riding black horses. One wore a black cloak and had long black hair blowing as she past them with the second woman, who also wore a black a cloak and had brown hair flying behind her, follow close behind. Wait, brown hair? He took another look at the second woman who was already a bit away from them, but he could still make out the long flowing hair from where he was. She looked... like Sanura... but... that couldn't be possible... could it? No she was at the palace wasn't she? With Bakura? And who was that other woman with her? It was unusual to see a woman alone in the desert without an escort let alone TWO of them. (A/N: Ok, if you couldn't guess who this is by now then you're just plain stupid)...

-----

After the two girls were several miles away from the caravan they slowed down to a walking pace.

"I must say that I am impressed that your horse could keep up with mine" Anput said. Anat just snorted at her in response.

"Never underestimate the power and speed of the thief lord's horse" Sanura said proudly, "What was the point of that though? Were you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I wasn't trying to get rid of you." Anput replied, "If you didn't notice that was the Pharaoh's caravan."

"Yeah, and?"

"Two women riding alone in the desert is not only suspicious it makes us look out of place and the guards might have stopped us and questioned us. That would have slowed us down. Plus you know the Pharaoh extremely well so he might think something's wrong or want to send guards to protect us throughout our travels in the desert. That would have made it extremely hard to continue." Anput explained, "I couldn't exactly tell them that I was Anput, the goddess of the dead now could I? And if they found out I was the thief then that would've caused even more problems. So that's why I made Blood go full speed. I know they would never have wasted their time to abandon their leader to chase us and even if they did they wouldn't be able to catch up considering Blood is one of the fastest horses around. Except maybe for your husband's horse there."

"Oh... I guess that's true"

"There's a village coming up. We should stay there for the night." Anput said after a while of silence. After that the rest of the way was quiet. They finally reached the village just as the sun was setting. They found an inn to stay at an went their separate ways for the night.

-----

It was around midnight when Sanura awoke. There was a whole bunch of noise outside and she found it hard to breathe. She leaped out of bed and felt around the room and got to the door. It was too dark to see anything but somehow Sanura managed to get to the stairs. As she got to the bottom there was a bright orange glow and it was very hot. The rest of the inn was empty so she clammered to the front door. She finally got out and breathed a big breath of fresh air. She took a minute to look around. There was fire everywhere. It was so chaotic that it was hard to tell what was happening. People were running around screaming and trying to get away from the burning buildings. Sanura ignored the mass of people and began running to the stalls near the inn to get to Anat. However before she got there a man on a horse came up in front of her. He was smiling awkwardly and his face seemed dark, almost black. Sanura was on her guard and begun to back away but she bumped into someone. She spun around quickly only to be face to face with another man holding a dagger.

"My, my, what a pretty one she is." The man on the horse said, "Bring her here!" He seemed to be the leader based on how he was giving orders. The man behind her tried to grab her but because she had been with Bakura all these years she had learned to defend herself from such lowlifes as these. She ducked when the guy behind her went to grab her and jumped to the side then punched him square in the jaw. He dropped the dagger and staggered to the side holding his cheek with both hands. The man on the horse whistled and several more bandits appeared. Sanura prepared herself. Two of the men came at her. One had a knife and the other had a sword. She kneed the guy with the knife where the sun don't shine then slid to the side just as the guy with the sword lunged her way. The sword cut her a bit but not enough to really hurt her. She elbowed him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Another couple of guys lunged at her and she began knocking them down one by one. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and put a knife to her throat. She tried to get out of his grasp.

"Now, now, don't struggle or I'll slit your throat." The man whispered into her ear. Sanura stilled. The man lead her a small cart attached a camel. There were other girls on the cart. The man behind her held her while another one tied her hands with a rope. She wasn't able to get loose. The rope was tied extremely tight, it almost cut off her circulation. As soon as the man behind her let his guard down and brought down the knife, Sanura bent her leg back as fast and as hard as she could right in between the guy's legs. He dropped the knife and doubled over in pain. Sanura would have laughed if not for the fact that she was tied up at the moment.

"Round up what you can, burn the rest and let's go!" The man on the horse ordered. The other men got on their own horses and began to ride off. Sanura and the rest of the women along with some supplies from the village were in several carts attached to several other camels.

-----

They had been traveling all night and it was almost daybreak by the time the group got to a small, empty village. It almost reminded Sanura of Kul Elna but with better houses. They gathered the women into a big group and the men surrounded the girls, smiling wickedly. The leader stepped up towards the women and chuckled at the women who were clinging to each other in fear.

"Heh heh heh, From now on you will remain here and serve us." He smiled, "And if you choose to defy us, the consequences will be most dear." He nodded to a couple of the men and turned to walk away. He stopped right next to another one of his lackees and whispered something into his ear. Once the leader left some of the henchmen took the women, along with Sanura, to a building.

"This is where you will be staying." One man said, "The master says to get your rest and later you'll be escorted to the tavern to find out your jobs." The man closed the door and locked it. There were no windows and the only light was coming from a small candle in the corner of the room. Sanura felt a sort of deja vu. It was like when she first met Bakura and she was his slave. She sat in a corner and watched the other girls calm themselves. Something was bugging her, but she couldn't think of what it was. It was something about this room. The way everything was set up. She sighed and decided not to dwell on it. She was tired so she laid down and fell asleep on the cold ground.

_Dream Time_

_"So you want to become my subordinate?" A woman with golden hair said. Around her was a city with what looked like brand new buildings. They glowed as the sunlight hit them. Children were running around, playing games, while the adults carried out daily routines._

_"Yes! Please accept me! Even if it's just a servant's position!" A younger woman with brown hair begged, bowing low._

_"Please stand up." The older woman said. The younger one did as she was told._

_"I shall now regard you as my apprentice, but you must promise to listen to and follow everything I tell you ok?" The older one said._

_"I will I promise!"_

_-----_

_"Why is it so dark in here?" The girl with the brown hair asked, "And what's this got to do with my training?" The older woman chuckled and lit a small candle in the corner of the room._

_"This will be your first test. Everyone of my previous pupils have done it. Most of them have failed." The woman replied, "You shall stay in this room for three days and three nights. Within that time you must find a way out. If you do I shall begin your real training. If you do not succeed, however, I will be forced to take you back to the village."_

_"Take me back to the village? If that's the case then I shall surely overcome this trial!" The younger girl said proudly._

_"Do not be overconfident, for that will be your downfall." The woman instructed, "You must never underestimate your opponent, no matter who or what that opponent may be. Only two people have successfully completed this challenge. The candle will quickly burn out after I leave and you will be left in the blinding darkness. Your eyesight nor touch shall help you. You must use your mind and spirit to find an escape route. Time shall seem to slow down while you are in here. Seconds will seem like minutes, minutes like hours and hours like days. If you let it get to you, you will definitely fail this test." The older female stood up and walked to the door. She looked over her shoulder at the younger girl._

_"Now I leave you, once I close this door your time will start. You will not be able to open this door no matter what you do. I have specially sealed it, so you must find another way out. I shall return for you in three days." She walked out of the large room and locked the door. Within a few minutes the candle burnt out and the girl was shrouded in darkness._

_-----_

Sanura shot up. Her breath was heavy and at first she couldn't see straight. She calmed down and let her mind drift to her dream. Who was that woman? and what was this training she spoke of? Her dream only brought up more confusion than answers. Her hand mindlessly wandered to her necklace. She looked down at it. Only about a third of it was clear. Sanura looked around, there were some girls that were awake. They were talking quietly talking in the corner. It wouldn't be long before those men came back to get them. The only question left in Sanura's mind was 'where was Anput?'...

TO BE CONTINUED... DUNDUNDUUUUUUNNNNNN!

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A/N: um yeah hi dodges heavy metal objects Where do you people get these things to throw at me!? Ahem sorry. Now where was I? Oh yeah begging for mercy... lol just kidding. I'm sorry, I been focused on school, halloween, Bleach, Naruto Shippuuden and sleeping. lol .'' Hope you like the update plz review! I want to know what my fans think. And what they think should happen next! I want to hear your ideas!


	6. Episode 5

It was time

In The Shadows

Episode 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters, Egyptology owns Sanura and Kissa, and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2. I only own my version of Anput

**Last Time: **Sanura shot up. Her breath was heavy and at first she couldn't see straight. She calmed down and let her mind drift to her dream. Who was that woman? And what was this training she spoke of? Her dream only brought up more confusion than answers. Her hand mindlessly wandered to her necklace. She looked down at it. Only about a third of it was clear. Sanura looked around, there were some girls that were awake. They were talking quietly talking in the corner. It wouldn't be long before those men came back to get them. The only question left in Sanura's mind was 'where was Anput?'...

**Now:**

It was time. The men had come back, took them to the tavern for orders then they were taken to different parts of the small village to fulfill their duties. Sanura, not surprisingly, was assigned to work in the tavern with a few other girls. She got used to her job very quickly and was always cautious about the drunkards that were continuously trying to hit on her.

It was a few hours before she was able to leave the tavern. Although it was only for supplies from the next couple of huts over, it was nice to get out of that stuffed up place for even just a few minutes. A couple of the girls had gone with her. Some of the older women were trying to calm the newer recruits, like Sanura, down.

"It's ok, after a while you'll get used to it. It's not so bad after you've been here for a while." One of the older women, who Sanura came to know as Bahiti, said. They had just emerged from the supply hut and were walking back to the tavern.

"But what about our families? Our village." The younger one, Sharifa, said sadly, "I have a husband and a daughter. I hope I'll get to see them again."

"Yes, I know what you mean, I had a son that I was forced to leave behind when I was taken." Bahiti said, "What about you Sanura? Do you have anyone special back home?"

"Well, I have a husband, a son and a daughter, and there are all my friends back at the palace." Sanura said not really focusing on the conversation.

Sharifa stopped walking. Everyone turned to look at her, "The palace!" Sharifa exclaimed, "You lived in the palace!? Why were you in our village?"

"Well that's not completely correct." Sanura said, "I have friends in the palace and my daughter is married to one of the guards so I go there every once in a while. I was away to find something that I had lost but I got separated from my companion when I was brought here."

"Wow, that must be nice." Sharifa said dreamily. Sanura laughed. They turned to continue on towards the tavern only to be met with a golden jackal sitting a few feet away from them, staring at them.

"Oh look, a deeb!" Bahiti said, "You don't see those every day. The poor thing looks starving!"

"Here." Sanura reached into the pot that she was carrying and gave the jackal a dried fish. It was part of the spoils that the bandits had taken from various villages. The jackal gobbled the fish up within seconds.

"Oi, servant girls! How long are you going to stand out there!?" One of the men shouted out at them from the tavern door,-- obviously drunk and annoyed.

"Coming!" Bahiti shouted back, "We'd better go in now" They all rushed quickly inside through the back door and into the storage area of the tavern where all the food and drinks were stored.

Sharifa looked behind Sanura and pointed, "Um, Sanura..." Sanura looked behind her only to realize that the jackal had followed her inside.

"We need to get rid of it before anyone notices." Sharifa tried to pick it up but it quickly turned and bit her hand, "Ah!" It's teeth scraped her hand resulting in a small cut. Bahiti quickly wrapped a clothe around it to protect the cut from getting infected. The jackal ran to Sanura and hid behind her legs.

"It seems to be quite fond of you." Bahiti said.

'I wonder why.' Sanura thought sarcastically.

She thought for a minute, "Our shifts are almost done, we could let it stay in here until then." The other two reluctantly agreed.

Their shifts soon ended and the three of them headed back to the small stone house that all the women were put in.

"He is quite cute, I must admit, but we can't keep him. He'll require food and water and somebody's bound to notice." Sharifa said. Sanura picked the small jackal up and set it in her lap. That's when she noticed something small and shiny wrapped around its neck.

"What's this?" Sanura asked curiously. It shimmered in the dim light of the candles placed cleverly around the small room. Sanura grasped the tiny object and pulled it carefully off of the jackal. It was some sort of makeshift collar made from cloth. Sharifa and Bahiti looked over Sanura's shoulder. Attached to the strip of cloth was a small, golden pendant, about half the size of her palm. The pendant was in the shape of an ankh.

"Wow! That thing is beautiful!" Sharifa exclaimed, "I wonder why it was wrapped around that deeb's neck." Sanura knew why as soon as she saw it. It was Anput's, but why send a deeb? Why not come here herself? As far as Sanura knew Anput wasn't afraid of coming and if she had meant to leave Sanura behind then why would she send the deeb? Was she expecting Sanura to get out on her own? Sanura was so confused!

"Hey, look at this." Sharifa said. Sanura turned to face her. She had the ankh in her hand, the bottom of it was taken off and the inside was partially hollow. Inside the ankh was a small scroll. Sharifa took it out and unrolled it. Bahiti and Sanura peered over her to examine the small papyrus as well. Sharifa frowned.

"I can't read it." Indeed she was right. The lettering was not in hieroglyphics. It was written in unfamiliar scribbles. She relinquished the papyrus to Sanura after failing to read any of it.

She sighed, "Well, it's getting late, I suggest we go to sleep for now and figure out a way to get rid of that deeb tomorrow." She yawned, "Well, goodnight!"

There were a few other goodnights in the hut as the rest of the women went to sleep. Sanura however stayed awake in a small corner where a small table with a candle rested. She examined the scroll. She didn't know why or how but the writing on the scroll actually made sense to her. It said:

_Sanura,_

_ I can understand that you must be pretty mad at me for leaving you but _

_ I have a good reason for doing so. During the raid I was able to capture _

_ one of their men. He told me that someone had paid his band of thieves_

_ to raid nearby villages. They paid them a good price to do this too. I have _

_ a feeling that this is the type of thing we're looking for. I had let you be _

_ captured so that they would take you back to their base. This way we can _

_ use this as an advantage. Tomorrow, meet me at the west side of the _

_ village just after dawn. My servant will show you the way._

_ Anput_

Sanura looked to her right. The deeb had fallen asleep, curled up against her. She sighed. What kind of mess had she gotten herself into this time?

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: **I do apologize taking so long to update this story but I've been having writers block lately and I've been so freaking busy but I finally found the time to finish this chapter while trying to manage one of my other stories. So I hope you like it. Please Read and Review! I want to know what you think and I want your opinions on what you think should happen next!


	7. Episode 6

In the Shadows

Episode 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters, Egyptology owns Sanura and Kissa, and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2. I only own my version of Anput

**Last time:** There were a few other goodnights in the hut as the rest of the women went to sleep. Sanura however stayed awake in a small corner where a small table with a candle rested. She examined the scroll. She didn't know why or how but the writing on the scroll actually made sense to her. It said:

Sanura,

I can understand that you must be pretty mad at me for leaving you but

I have a good reason for doing so. During the raid I was able to capture

one of their men. He told me that someone had paid his band of thieves

to raid nearby villages. They paid them a good price to do this too. I have

a feeling that this is the type of thing we're looking for. I had let you be

captured so that they would take you back to their base. This way we can

use this as an advantage. Tomorrow, meet me at the west side of the

village just after dawn. My servant will show you the way.

Anput

Sanura looked to her right. The deeb had fallen asleep, curled up against her. She sighed. What kind of mess had she gotten herself into this time?

**Now:**

Sanura waited until her break the next day to go find Anput. She sneaked away from the tavern and to the servants' let the deeb out and allowed it to lead her. She was able to sneak out of the small, decrepit village and climbed over a dune which housed an oasis behind it. The oasis is how the bandits thrived in the desert. It was their main source of water. The deeb led her to a shaded area. Unfortunately, Sanura did not realize that she was being followed. Sharifa was also on her break when she saw Sanura leaving. Curious, she followed Sanura. Sharifa stayed behind a tree and watched.

Sanura had walked up to the water where the deeb was sitting waiting for her. She heard a loud whinny and turned quickly and came face to face with Anat who happily trotted towards her. He nuzzled her affectionately and sniffed/inspected her to make sure that she was unharmed.

She giggled, "Anat! I missed you too." She wrapped her arms around his neck as his breath tickled her. Anput rode up behind him. She quickly dismounted, and lead blood to the edge of the water where she quickly began to lap up the water. Anat happily joined her after the reunion with Sanura.

"I do apologize for leaving you but I was afraid I'd lose those bandits if I didn't. I knew I'd be able to find you though." Anput walked up to Sanura and pulled her hood down to talk to her face to face.

"How could you have been so sure!?" Sanura asked angrily.

"Sorry, that's a trade secret."Anput smiled, "I do have a favor to ask though."

"What?"

Anput pulled out a small animal skin bag, "I need you to find some information from their leader. He'll be the one who knows what's going on."

Sanura took the bag, "What is this?"

"It's just a little something that'll help to get him to tell you what we want to know. All you have to do is slip some of the powder into his drink or food, a pinch or two will do. Then he'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Sanura sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"All that interests me is who he's working for and where I can find that person. Now you better get back before someone realizes that you're gone."

Anat trotted back over to Sanura and was reluctant to leave her side again, nuzzling her neck affectionately.

"Don't worry Anat, I'll be okay I promise."

"And remember, the faster you can get the information, the sooner we can leave." With that, Anput got back onto blood and took hold of Anat's reigns. "I'll be camping out nearby but it'll be far enough away so that no one will know that I am there." She turned to leave, "Oh! And one more thing." She turned slightly and brought her hand to her belt and tossed Sanura something, "From an old friend"

Anput then rode away with Anat and Blood leaving Sanura back at the oasis. She opened her hands to reveal a small necklace. It was gold with a pendant of a cat with a solar disk placed on its head.

-----

"She's been gone for too long." Bakura paced back and forth in his room at the palace.

"Father, please, I'm sure she is fine. She has only been gone for a couple of days." Kissa was sitting in the bed watching her father slowly erode a hole in the floor.

"I can't help but worry! Damnit! I'm going to find her!" Bakura stormed out of the room. Kissa hopped up and ran after him.

"Father! She told you not to go after her." Kissa grabbed her father's arm, "She needs to do this on her own. According to Atem she was with someone so I'm sure she's ok."

"I'm not going to trust her life in the hands of some woman I don't know."

"Then trust her life with Anat." Kissa was getting frustrated. Her father could get so stubborn sometimes.

"I'm going to look for her and that's the end of it." Bakura tugged his arm out of Kissa's grip. She sighed as he walked away. He was so impossible.

Bakura hurried to the stables and picked out a sturdy horse that could make the long trip out into the desert. He made sure he had plenty of water and food and he took off towards the sea of sand.

-----

Sanura walked into the back of the tavern, clutching the small animal skin pouch. When she entered the storage room, Bahiti and Sharifa were there. They looked at her oddly for a minute before Sharifa grabbed Sanura's shoulders and shook her lightly.

"Don't leave us here!" She cried out quickly.

"Eh!?" Sanura looked at her like she was crazy.

"I heard you talking to that woman with all the silver. Please take us with you!"

This took a minute to sink in. "You spied on me?" Sanura was a but angry that they had spied on her conversation with Anput. She sighed, "I guess it can't be helped."

"Then, you'll forgive me?" Sharifa looked at Sanura with puppy dog eyes, "I'm sorry I spied on you."

"Yes, I forgive you."

"Yay!" Sharifa hugged Sanura, "But in all seriousness, please take us with you. Don't leave Bahiti and I to rot in this god forsaken place."

"But, I can't take you both with me." Sanura said.

"Please. All you have to do is help us get out of here and we'll do the rest. You don't actually have to take us with you. Where ever it is you are going." Bahiti joined in. Sanura felt pressured as the two women begged her to help them out of the village. Finally, Sanura gave in.

"Fine." She sighed. "I'll help you." Anput wasn't going to like it. Sanura smiled, it would be payback for making her stay in this place.

"But, to make this work you'll need to help me." Sanura said as their faces lit up, "and before we go I have to do something. I need to get to the leader."

"Well, then I have an idea!" Sharifa said cheerfully, "It's about time for him to have his evening meal. He has it in his private quarters. One of the servant girls serves it to him. If she is unable to do so another girl takes her place. You could do it and say that the servant girl is sick. But you have to be careful, he's a horrible womanizer and pervert. Sometimes he'll force some of the servant girls to sleep with him or he'll keep them in his room for hours."

"Don't worry I think I can manage." Sanura said, "What do I need to do?" The two woman showed Sanura where the meal was being prepared and told her what to do. They distracted the cook while Sanura sprinkled some of the powder that Anput gave her into the leader's alcohol. She offered to deliver it for the servant girl who was more than happy to let Sanura do it. She took the tray to a house where the leader stayed. She walked cautiously through the first room and climbed down the stairs to the sleeping quarters. The leader, Odji, was there, lying on a set of woven mats waiting for his evening meal. He was surprised to see Sanura instead or the normal servant girl.

"Where's the other woman?" He growled out.

"She's, uh," Sanura quickly thought up a lie, "She's not feeling well and felt that you would be angry at her for coming in her condition." Sanura sighed a relief as he seemed to buy that excuse.

"Fine." Odji looked her up and down, "I guess you'll do…" He motioned for her to come. She brought the tray with her as she walked closer to him.

He chuckled, "You're one of the new one's aren't you?" Sanura nodded. He patted a space next to him. Sanura blushed. She hesitantly sat down next to him.

Odji smiled, "Well, what are you waiting for? Feed me." Inside, Sanura screeched. This man was awful but she kept her façade. She hesitated for a moment but then picked up a piece of food and held it up to him then took the cup of alcohol and place it to his lips. Odji ate and drank without taking an eye off of Sanura and it was starting to make her unbearably uncomfortable. Once he had finished eating he took the cup of alcohol out of Sanura's hands.

"Now." He inched closer. The warning bells in Sanura's head were going off. Too close! Too close! "Now that we've finished the main course it's time for something a little… different." He looked her up and down again. Sanura decided to play along.

"Then, let's continue," She said huskily, "but first, will you answer me one question?" She had leaned closer to him but not enough to have to touch him.

"hm?"

"Who have you been working for?" She asked straight up, "When you were destroying those villages along the southern border?" Hopefully Anput's powder will have worked by now.

" Oh, that." Odji laughed. He was terribly drunk, "Some weird man. Called himself Khalfani, I think. Got a lot of gold on 'im. All for ransacking a few worthless villages, the fool."

"Where can I find him?" Sanura burst out.

"I don't remember. Let's quit talking about him and start focusing on us, right now." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Suddenly, Sanura heard screaming and yelling outside, so she turned to look towards the stairs. Big mistake. Odji grabbed her head, brought it towards him and planted one right on her. Sanura freaked out when he did that. Sanura brought her hand up quickly and slapped him hard. Bahiti came rushing in at that moment. Sanura had hit Odji so hard that he had fallen off the bed and hit a table nearby, knocking him unconscious.

"You bastard!" Sanura cried out.

"Sanura!" Bahiti grabbed her arm, "We need to go! There's a band of thieves here. They've created a huge commotion outside. We'll be able to escape. Come on!" Bahiti pulled Sanura away from Odji and headed towards the stairs. They didn't get far though. Three men came running down the stairs. Sanura didn't recognize any of them.

One man pointed to Odji "Pick him up and bring him to the chief." He said. That one seemed to be in charge, or at least the second in command. The other two followed his orders without argument. After they had carried Odji out the man turned his attention to Sanura and Bahiti.

"You two." He said, "You're going to come with us. We won't harm you as long as you listen. We'll take good care of you. Don't worry." He motioned for them to follow him. When the two girls hesitated he looked over his shoulder at them.

"Are you going to listen or do I have to force you?" He said warningly. The two girls decided to take the former option and followed the man out of the house. The other buildings were burning, breaking through the darkness of night, and many of the girls' original captors were either lying dead or had fled the village. The women were crowded into one area. They appeared to be unharmed as far as Sanura could tell. The thieves were taking any provisions that they could find and were loading them onto a cart which they had strapped to two horses.

Sanura heard one of the men shout, "Hey, there's the chief!" She turned to see who the man was talking about and was surprised to see a familiar face. She gasped and ran towards the 'chief'. The man who was leading Bahiti and her tried to catch her.

Sanura began to shout out happily "…."

**TO BE CONTINUED….**

**A/N: **Can you guess who the 'chief' is? Whoever guesses correctly gets a cookie :) I doubt anyone can guess correctly (except for egyptology1996 and ObSeSsEd WiTh ROXAS, who have both read the first bit of the next chapter)Sorry for the long wait (and I do mean looooonnnngggg D:) I finally found the time to write this up. Yay! I'm in the middle of writing the next episode so that should be up soon as well ( I hope) lol


	8. Episode 7

In the Shadows

Episode 7

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters, Egyptology owns Sanura and Kissa, and Ria belongs to shiroiookamidawhitefuzzywolfy2. I only own my version of Anput

**Last time:** "Are you going to listen or do I have to force you?" He said warningly. The two girls decided to take the former option and followed the man out of the house. The other buildings were burning, breaking through the darkness of night, and many of the girls' original captors were either lying dead or had fled the village. The women were crowded into one area. They appeared to be unharmed as far as Sanura could tell. The thieves were taking any provisions that they could find and were loading them onto a cart, which they had strapped to two horses.

Sanura heard one of the men shout, "Hey, there's the chief!" She turned to see whom the man was talking about and was surprised to see a familiar face. She gasped and ran towards the 'chief'. The man who was leading Bahiti and her tried to catch her.

Sanura began to shout out happily "…."

**Now:**

"Hasani!" Sanura stopped. Another girl had called out her son's name. She looked over towards the other servant girls. Sharifa ran over to Hasani as he got off his horse and gave him a bear hug. The man who Sanura was originally following grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Get back here!" He pulled on her arm. Sanura turned around.

"Let me go!" She pulled back, trying to get out of the man's grip.

"Sanura?" Sharifa ran to her friend's rescue, "Nizam, let her go, she's a friend." The man, Nizam, let Sanura go.

"Are you ok?" Sharifa asked.

Sanura smiled, "Oh, don't worry, I am fine." Hasani came up to the two girls.

"Oh! Hasani," Sharifa pulled Sanura next to her, "this is my friend, Sanura. She was going to help me escape."

"Hasani." Sanura hugged Hasani; "I haven't seen you in such a long time. How have you been? I see that you've become so much like your father." Sanura was happy to see her son again. Sharifa looked at her oddly as it took a while to sink in.

"How do you two know each other?" She chimed, "Hasani, is there something we need to talk about?"

Hasani laughed, "No, no, Sharifa. I'd like you to meet my mother." Sharifa's jaw dropped as he introduced Sanura properly. What were the odds of this chance meeting? Nizam was also surprised at hearing this.

Just then, the two men Sanura and Bahiti had encountered before in Odji's house had come up to Hasani carrying Odji between them.

"Chief! We've got their leader!" One of the men said. Odji was finally conscious and there was a small trickle of blood running down his temple from when he had hit the table.

"I thought I told you not to touch him before I saw him?" Hasani growled out.

"We didn't touch him I swear!" The other man said quickly, "We found him like this."

Odji spoke up, "That bitch right there is the one who knocked me back into the table!" He nodded angrily towards Sanura. Hasani stiffened a bit at this.

"Excuse me?" Hasani said menacingly. He glared daggers at Odji. Believe me, if looks could kill, Odji would be dead ten times over by now. Odji shrank back in fear.

Hasani smiled, but it just made him seem more sinister, "So, you're the leader of this gang, huh?" Odji nodded slowly. "Did you really think, that you could kidnap my wife and get away with it?" Odji shook his head furiously, "and now, not only do I also find my mother here but you dare to insult her?" Hasani grabbed the collar of Odji's clothes. Odji swallowed hard in fear of what was going to happen.

"You know," Hasani began, "I had originally planned to knock you around a bit and then grant you a quick death out of mercy, but you have crossed the line and now I'm not feeling so charitable. I will make you wish with all your being that you were dead as you rot away in a cell that will never again see the light of day. Take him away" Hasani released Odji. The two men that had carried him over followed Hasani's orders quickly and took Odji away. After they had left, Sharifa walked up beside Hasani.

"Well, now that that's over, you are going to take all these women to the nearest populated village and release them." Sharifa said sternly.

"But-" Hasani began.

"No buts. You're going to do it." Sanura butted in, "or do I have to make you?" She grabbed his ear.

"Ow! Ok, ok, I'll do it!" He said.

Sanura let him go, "Good." She smiled and walked over to Bahiti.

Nizam, Hasani's second in command, came up to Hasani and laughed, "You're like putty in their hands."

"I can handle one," Hasani said wearily, "but two is just impossible. I don't believe I was able to argue with mother, now that I think about it."

Bahiti was so happy to hear that she would be free again. She cried as she thought about seeing her family again. It took them several hours but they let the women go. After that the band of thieves rode off towards their own hide away with Sanura and Sharifa. They traveled until noon where they managed to find some shade under some giant rocks.

"So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the desert? Why aren't you with father?" Hasani asked Sanura as they rested.

"I'm traveling… with a friend." She replied, "And trust me. Bakura was not happy to hear about it either. I told him that I'd be gone for a week or so but, knowing him, he'll probably be looking for me right now." Sanura laughed.

"Yeah." Hasani smiled, "Well, we better be going. We'll want to get back home before sundown." He got up and held out a hand for Sharifa and Sanura. Sharifa was going to ride with him but there were no more horses left for Sanura to ride on. So, Hasani led her over to a different source of transportation.

"A camel!" Sanura cried out.

"Yes. We got a couple from that gang earlier." Hasani said.

"But, but, aren't there any horses that I can ride on instead?"

Hasani laughed, "No, I'm afraid not. Don't worry. You'll be fine. Camels are better for traveling through the desert anyway. Their hoofs are better adept for it."

"What about that cart I rode on when we came here?"

"Sorry mother, but one of the wheels got damaged when one of the men went to get a barrel of water from it. We had to take the supplies and put them on the remaining cart so you can't ride that one either." Hasani said.

"But I've never rode a camel before. I'll fall off or something." Sanura pleaded. Hasani wouldn't listen, however, as her picked her up easily and tossed her onto the saddle. The camel turned its neck and looked at her.

Sanura stiffened and rose her hand a bit, "Uh, hi." She said quietly. The camel groaned and stood up from its laying position. Sanura screeched and fell forward grabbing the first thing she could which happened to be the camel's neck. She was practically lying across the camel as she clung to its neck for dear life.

Hasani laughed again, "I think he likes you."

Sanura glared at him, "Oh yeah, he likes me a lot!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Hasani please, I can't do this. I don't like being up here so high above the ground.

"It's not that much difference in height when riding a horse. Don't worry you'll be fine." Hasani assured her. He tied the camel to one of the other horses and walked over to his own where he helped Sharifa up onto the horse. Hasani sat behind her and put his arms on either side of her to hold the reigns and to make sure that she didn't fall. They then set off. Sanura cried out again as she was jerked forward by the horse in front of her. She managed to get back upright and sit properly on the saddle.

-----

Bakura had been traveling for a day now. His head wrap and long coat, protecting him from the scorching heat of the sun. What had he been thinking? Egypt was a big country. How would he be able to find Sanura by himself? That's when he came up with an idea. His son, Hasani, lived just south of Helwan on the east side of the Nile. He had a great band of thieves at his disposal. The men would be a great asset to Bakura. Hasani also owed Bakura a lot, not to mention that Bakura was his father so he'd be more than willing to help. Bakura pulled back on the reigns of his horse and headed to Hasani's village.

-----

They had been traveling for only about an hour but Sanura was not in a good mood. When the camel walked it's hump moved and when the hump moved it caused the saddle to sway and bounce along with it and when the saddle moved… well you get the picture. The point was that Sanura did not like the swaying motion at all. It made her feel like she was going to fall. Her but would be sore as well. This was definitely worse than riding a horse.

One of the men then rode up to Hasani, who led the group, and whispered something in his ear. Hasani looked back quickly then whispered something back to the man who rode back near the rear of the caravan. Hasani turned his horse causing everyone to stop.

"We're being followed!" He said loudly, "Pick up the speed or you'll be left behind!" He turned back around and took off in a canter. The rest of the men followed. 'Oh no' Sanura thought.

"Not…" Sanura began as the horse tied to her camel took off behind everyone else, "RUNNING!!!!" Sanura screeched as she lunged forward to grab the camel's neck and keep from falling. She couldn't even look back to see who was following them. It was a while before they finally slowed down. Sanura couldn't even tell. Whoever was following them would surely have been lost in their dust. She lifted up her head, not daring to let go of the camel's neck, to see a cluster of houses that made up the village where Hasani and his gang lived. Just beyond the village she saw and open oasis. It was lined with trees and tall grass. The only thing that no one realized was that the one who was following them, was not far behind…

**TO BE CONTINUED….**

**A/N:** Yay!! New update! I'm so happy. I've been writing like a maniac this week. I'm so proud of myself. Five pages! Whew! I'm done for now. BTW for those of you who don't know, Helwan is a real city! It's city known for its natural springs. I'm not sure however (as I can't find an exact date) whether it was already founded by 30th century B.C. (this story takes place in the early 30th century B.C. or 3000 B.C.) or if it was founded in 20th century B.C. However one place I found states that it was important in the Early Dynasty, which is around this general time period I believe. So if someone would like to correct me that'd be great.


	9. Episode 8

In The Shadows

Episode 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters. Egyptology1996 owns Sanura, Kissa and Hasani. I own Sharifa, Panya, Akhom, Bomani and my version of the Egyptian gods

**Last Time:** "We're being followed!" He said loudly, "Pick up the speed or you'll be left behind!" He turned back around and took off in a canter. The rest of the men followed. 'Oh no' Sanura thought.

"Not…" Sanura began as the horse tied to her camel took off behind everyone else, "RUNNING!!!!" Sanura screeched as she lunged forward to grab the camel's neck and keep from falling. She couldn't even look back to see who was following them. It was a while before they finally slowed down. Sanura couldn't even tell. Whoever was following them would surely have been lost in their dust. She lifted up her head, not daring to let go of the camel's neck, to see a cluster of houses that made up the village where Hasani and his gang lived. Just beyond the village she saw and open oasis. It was lined with trees and tall grass. The only thing that no one realized was that the one who was following them, was not far behind…

**Now:**

Everyone dismounted except Sanura who continued to grip the camel's neck. When Hasani came over to help her off it's back, Sanura gracelessly fell off with a screech and landed flat on her back. Hasani was laughing as he helped her up.

"I have an idea, let's NEVER do that again." Sanura said, rubbing her aching behind. Hasani chuckled again and allowed his mother to lean on him while she tried to regain her balance. The village was a fair size. If anyone were to be traveling through, they would never guess that it belonged to a band of thieves.

The men proceeded to unload the goods and put the horses in the stables near the edge of the village. There were several women and children waiting for their husbands to return. Seeing the families together made Sanura think about Bakura and her other child, Kissa, back at the palace. She hoped that he wasn't getting in to too much trouble. She thought about it for a moment. Who was she kidding? Of course he was!

"Well then, come. Tonight you are our guest." Hasani's words jolted her from her thoughts. He grabbed her wrist, guiding her to a larger building. The both of them entered. The inside was made up of three rooms and two floors. The main room was a sort of large dining room with several tables and clusters of chairs. It was a room meant for larger gatherings. The room next door was a sort of a kitchen. It had a stove with pots and knives and other various cooking materials. The wooden shelves were littered with a variety of spices and smaller dry ingredients. A counter sat in the middle of the room. The second floor was one large room, which served as a storage room for most of the food and a few other supplies.

"The building is used to house supplies and for when we eat. Each house has its own eating area of course, but most of the time we all come here to eat since we pretty much consider everyone here family." Hasani said.

"Sanura!" Sharifa popped out of nowhere, "Come, come." She came over to Sanura and pulled her towards the kitchen. Sanura looked back at Hasani, silently asking whether or not she was going to survive this encounter. He smiled and gave her a mocking gesture, placing his hands chest, as if praying and he looked down, as if in mourning. This made Sanura look back towards Sharifa with fear in her eyes.

Sanura was nearly dragged to the back room. Once the two girls entered the room Sanura noticed several other women. Working around in the kitchen, carrying things in or preparing to cook. They were all chatting happily and laughing among themselves. Sharifa introduced Sanura to the other women. They were all wives of some of the men in the group of thieves. Sanura noticed how laid back and energetic everyone seemed. It made her think back to when she was still a slave under Bakura (**A/N:** See "Sent Down" by Egyptology1996).

It wasn't long before Sanura could hear talking and laughter in the next room. Sanura, Sharifa and 3 of the other women brought out the food and alcohol for everyone. The children were on an opposite corner of the room, playing and chatting among themselves. The women divided their attention between checking on the children every so often and spending time with their husbands.

Currently, Hasani and two other men had their arms around each other's shoulders. All three were swaying back and forth in their seats and were singing to a tuneless song. They had giddy smiles and seemed to be having the time of their lives. Sanura laughed lightly as one of them fell off of his chair, landing on the floor, laughing hysterically. The others began having laughing fits themselves. Sanura turned to Sharifa.

"Is he always like this?" She asked

"Only when he gets drunk." Sharifa replied with a giggle, "He rarely drinks this much unless it's a special occasion."

Throughout the rest of the night, Sanura's mind kept wandering back to everything that's been happening so far. It was hard to believe that all of this had started by a few attacks on some villages along the border.

Sanura yawned and excused herself. It was late, and she was tired. She wasn't all that surprised that Anput had not come to get her. Sanura was getting used to being left behind. After all, Anput didn't really want her there in the first place.

Sharifa and Hasani offered her a place to sleep and she accepted, not really awake enough to protest that she was being a burden and would rather sleep somewhere where she wouldn't be a hindrance. Hasani would insist that she stay at his house and he would win since he inherited his father's stubborn personality. When she arrived to their house, she headed towards the roof where everyone slept and noticed that there was an extra bed laid out for her. Sanura guessed that Hasani put it there when she was in the kitchen with Sharifa. Sanura laid down pulling the simple woven blanket over her. At some point as she was staring up at the stars, she was lulled to sleep.

-----

Sanura awoke to someone shaking her furiously.

"Sanura! Sanura!" A voice called out. Sanura simply swatted away what ever was bugging her. With a huff the intruder seemed to give up and walked away. Sanura snuggled under the blanket even more, trying to fall asleep again. With the last bit of consciousness she had left, Sanura heard footsteps rushing back towards her before stopping nearby.

Sanura's eyes shot open and her mouth opened to let out a screech as her world turned and she went tumbling onto the cold stone floor.

"Ugh! Hasani!" Sanura yelled out as she scrambled to get off the floor.

"Huh? Who's Hasani?"

Sanura stopped what she was doing and looked up. She saw two that she didn't recognize. There was a man who was about 6'0" tall and a much smaller woman about 5'2". The man was muscular but not overly so. He had tan skin, brown eyes, curly black hair and a little black beard just under his lower lip. The woman also had tan skin and brown eyes. Her black hair consisted of micro-braids and was pulled back into a ponytail. At the end of each braid was a small golden tube holding the ends together so the braids didn't come undone.

The woman giggled, "I think you caused her to hit her head, Bomani."

"You're the one who asked me to do it, Panya." The man said, mocking her tone of voice.

"Anyway!" Panya turned her attention away from Bomani, " Sanura, shame on you! You should've been up hours ago! Your orientation is only an hour from now and you need to get ready!" Panya ushered Sanura up and towards a chair with folded clothes. She then went over and shooed Bomani out of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, Sanura saw a glint of light. She turned quickly. Being the wife of the thief king had made her reflexes much sharper. She relaxed when she realized that it was only a mirror. It wasn't until she really looked at what was being reflected in the mirror that she freaked out. First of all, she wasn't wearing the white sloth dress that she went to bed with. She was wearing a much shorter dress that reached to her knees. It was only a plain linen dress designed for sleeping however and wasn't much different in design. There were two things that really startled her. The first thing was that there were now bandages on her hands, wrists, legs, and a couple on her face for smaller cuts. The second was that there were now two feathery wings protruding from her back. They were a brilliant white. She hadn't noticed them before. They felt so natural to her, but when did she get them? Was she… dead? She didn't remember dying.

"Sanura!" Panya was waving a hand in front of Sanura's face. "You awake?" Sanura snapped out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Came Sanura's intelligent response.

"Guess not." Panya said. She pulled Sanura over to the pile of clothes and behind a screen. She threw the clothes to Sanura and told her to dress and meet her outside.

Sanura quickly redressed and took off the bandages and was about to go meet Panya outside when she saw herself in the mirror once more. The new clothes looked quite nice on her. They consisted of a white skirt that ended just at her knees and white sleeveless shirt that cut off before her belly button. Both made of linen. They were fairly simple yet they were also some of the finest clothes that Sanura had ever seen. A simple belt held her skirt together with the ends of the belt hung down the center, which accented the skirt even more. She was also given a small collection of gold jewelry, which consisted of two armbands, two bracelets, two small ankh earrings and a collar. Finally, on her feet was a pair of plain, woven sandals. All in all she looked quite impressive. Bakura would've been proud.

After realizing that she was staring at herself again, Sanura quickly headed towards the door where Panya was waiting.

"Oh, wow! You look gorgeous! Not that you weren't gorgeous before." Panya said, "But! No time to stare, we need to get you to your orientation." She pulled Sanura down the hall.

"Orientation?"

"Duh! To become an archangel under Lady Pachet. She already gave you your wings but there's an official ceremony for your orientation, remember?" Panya frowned, "Geez, you must be still asleep."

Panya dragged Sanura through a maze of hallways before arriving at a large room. Like the rest of the building, the room was made out of stone. There were no open areas letting light in from the outside so torches had been lit to illuminate the interior. Various paintings and hieroglyphics littered the walls. In the back of the room there was a table with various items on the top, and in front of the table was a shorter stone block with a bowl, filled with some dark red liquid, set on top. There were several people in the room already. Three of them had wings like Sanura but there were four others that were unlike anything she had ever seen before. (**A/N: **Can you guess who they are?)

One looked relatively human, except she had a pair of cat ears and a long furry tail. She had blonde hair and wore a sun disk as a headpiece. She had a soft expression on her face.

The second was a humanoid but also had a lot of Deeb characteristics with short black fur covering his body and a long muzzle. He had longer hair that was pulled back into a low ponytail beginning at the nape of his neck.

The third one was also humanoid but had feathers covering his body and had the head of a falcon. Large brown and white wings burst from his back. He stood proudly behind the others, as if he was watching over them rather than actually participating.

The last one was apparently human but he had green skin, and bandages wrapped partially around his limbs. He wore a white crown and carried a crook and flail.

"Lady Pachet" Panya came in front of Sanura and bowed low. "I have brought Sanura as you requested." The woman with the cat ears turned and the rest of the people in the room looked up.

The woman smiled, "Ah, Sanura, you've finally woken up I see. Please take your place so that we can start the ceremony." She motioned for Sanura to stand next to the three others that had wings. Panya left quickly. Sanura followed Pachet's order and stood up next to the table. Sanura was blushing in embarrassment. She was nervous. She didn't even know what she was doing.

The event took quite some time. Sanura wasn't really sure exactly how long. Half of it was Ra talking and the soon-to-be-archangels taking their oaths. Sanura didn't know why, but she seemed to know exactly what to say and what to do. She simply allowed herself to talk without thinking. After Sanura finished speaking, Pachet picked up the bowl of red liquid. She dipped two fingers into the liquid and drew a pattern with it on the table's surface.

Pachet explained what it was for. The red liquid was Ra's blood and represented the blood of all the gods. Pachet then told the four to take a dagger from the table and slit their palms. It didn't need to be deep, but just enough to cause the wound to bleed. Because the four were dead, however, the "blood" was not actually blood but a spiritual representation that the free spirit creates in order to recreate a body in the spirit world or the 'afterlife' as most called it.

The four did as they were told and cut their palms. They then had to place their palms onto the symbol that Pachet had drawn on the tabletop. The symbol glowed a brilliant blue and the symbol slowly disappeared from the woodwork. The symbol reappeared on their foreheads. There were also smaller designs, which appeared on their arms. Each person had his/her own individual design, representing his/her spirit. Sanura's was a simple cat-like design. The symbol on their foreheads was there to let others know of their status. It was the symbol of the archangels.

The ritual ended and Sanura followed everyone to a much larger room that could fill at least one hundred people. There were several long tables that were low to the floor. Cushions were set along the edge so someone could sit comfortably next to the table. There were already others there. They were all either Gods or archangels.

"This is where the archangels eat or come to relax since they live here in the palace. Gods usually don't even bother with eating but since we don't conduct an archangel ritual for another 100 years we consider this a special occasion." Sanura jumped. Pachet had come up behind Sanura, explaining the purpose of the room. Because they were already dead, the people in the afterlife never actually needed food but it was one of those simple pleasures that the people kept from the living world.

The afterlife was divided into many sections in order to contain all the souls in the world. The palace was where the gods, archangels and their servants resided. It was the only building that existed on all planes of the afterlife. Gods and archangels were also the only ones who could open portals that took them to different planes. It made things easier when archangels had to go out to settle disputes or send messages among other gods or whatever else they were asked to do.

Sanura sat next to Pachet near the end of one table. Ra sat the head. Sanura was able to recognize the Gods without even realizing it. The Deeb was Anpu. The green man was Osiris. There was a woman wearing a navy blue dress with sparkling crystals embedded in the fabric. That was Nut, the god of the sky. There was a dwarf wearing a lion's skin. That was Bes, the protector of pregnant women, newborn babies and the family. There were two large cats curled up in a corner of the room, sleeping. The blonde one was Sekhmet and the black one was Bastet. Most of the gods preferred their natural forms (either animalistic, human, or another form such as sky or earth) but for occasions such as this it was easier to appear as humans or as humanoids.

Anpu was sitting across from Sanura and Pachet with one of the new archangels that Sanura had had the ritual with. There were many other archangels, who Sanura did not recognize, who had come to join the celebration.

Right after the food was served Ra stood up and gave a toast. Sanura raised her glass with everyone else. She didn't like alcohol and decided to stick with juice. After everyone lowered his/her glasses. The room then broke out into loud chatter and laughing. A male archangel, who was sitting next to Sanura, turned towards Anpu.

"Lord Anpu, have you forgotten about the last time you drank alcohol? Do you really think it wise to do so now?" The man asked.

"No, I have not forgotten, my dear Akhom, and as far as my wife is concerned, I have not been drinking at all. She not too hard to trick" Anpu stated smartly. He drank from his cup smugly, confident in his ability to keep things from his wife.

Akhom looked up and past Anput, "Well, I hope for your sake that she assumes that everything you just said is the drink talking and not you."

"Geez, you worry too much my friend. My wife may have beauty but she isn't always the brightest one on the block." Anpu chuckled drunkenly before taking another large gulp of his drink. All of a sudden everyone in the room became silent.

"Oh? Is that so?" A voice from behind Anpu spoke up causing Anpu to choke on his drink. He looked over his shoulder cautiously, with a look of horror on his face. Standing behind the god was a woman dressed in fine clothing and jewelry. She had a pair of Deeb ears and tail. Her eyes were a petrifying red. Her arms were crossed and her face was distorted into a scowl. Sanura recognized the woman immediately. Anput. The archangels around Anpu scooted away from him as fast as they could and Anpu himself was trying to back away from the obviously angry god hovering over him, but the table was blocking his retreat. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to watch the events unfold.

"N-now dear… don't be unreasonable…." Anpu sputtered out nervously. Sanura could almost see the malicious intent that was resonating from Anput in waves. She was sure that she saw flames surrounding the god. Anput's eyes were fixated in a glare that was aimed towards Anpu. The anger that she was showing was even making Ra uncomfortable, although he did well to not show it. Anput grabbed Anpu's collar* (**A/N:** NOT a dog collar people! It's the neckpiece that Egyptians used to wear. Now back to the action.) and pulled him up so that his face was only inches from hers. Anpu swallowed loudly.

"Did you honestly think that you would get away with it this time?" Anput growled out.

"N-No?" Anpu squeaked. It was more of a question than an actual statement. The gatekeeper seemed rather pathetic at this moment as he as he cowered in the face of his wife.

"Really?" Anput asked suspiciously, "Well then, I guess I'll just have to show you no mercy since you obviously knew the consequences of your actions." Anput turned and began walking away from the table dragging the pleading gatekeeper behind her.

Anpu had one hand clasped onto his collar preventing himself from being choked. He reached out with his other hand in desperation, "Ra! Help me!" He pleaded.

"No way. You are not dragging me down with you." Ra sighed. Anput had opened a portal and walked through it with Anpu.

The night dragged on. Everyone partied happily, joking and chatting amongst them selves. Even Sanura had a wonderful time, laughing at Akhom's ridiculous antics and listening to older archangels stories of their experiences, much to the gods' dismay. Slowly, the hall got quieter and quieter as the crowd began to dwindle and the only ones who were left were Sanura, Akhom, and a couple of other veteran archangels she had the pleasure of meeting. It was getting late however and Sanura let out large yawn and had to rub her eyes to keep herself awake. It wasn't long before she excused herself from the table. Akhom decided to follow suit and said goodnight to the others before offering to show Sanura her room. Sanura laughed at his attempts to be a gentleman.

They soon arrived at her room and they bid each other goodnight.

"Now, young archangel," Akhom patted her on the head, which earned him a blush on Sanura part, "I'm afraid we must part ways but don't worry," He smiled goofily and pointed to himself smugly, "I know it can be tough, so just remember, I'll always be there if you need a shoulder to ball your eyes out on." He laughed when Sanura hit his arm playfully at his statement.

"I'm not THAT weak, thank you very much! And don't treat me like a child!" She called after him as he trotted down the hall. He waved and smiled back at her before turning the corner to go to his own room for the night.

Sanura entered her room and looked around. She was on an upper level and was lucky enough to get an open room. The entire right wall was missing with pillars holding up the ceiling. She could look out and see the courtyard if she wanted to and the breeze was very nice. It reminded her of when she and Bakura would sleep out on the rooftop on those cool summer nights and would stare up at the stars together. The rest of the room was fairly simple as it was used for mostly sleeping and privacy. The bed was in the back with a veil over it to keep bugs away while she was sleeping. There was a desk against the left wall with a small stool to sit on. A long lounging couch was in the middle of the room for her to relax on. The walls were covered in gorgeous paintings and hieroglyphics, like the rest of the palace. There were stands in various places around the room that held candles in a shallow bowl at the top. They weren't lit right now but when they were they created an ethereal glow to the room that added to its beauty.

It had been a long night and everything that had happened made Sanura forget about Egypt for a couple hours. She was now able to relax and think about what has happened and about the past that she had left behind when she met Bakura. All her memories began to flood back to her and she began to realize why everything happened the way it did.

It had been 200 years since her orientation, 250 years since she had first died. She did not have a family in life and had died a lonely death due to illness. Panya and Bomani were friends of hers from when she first came to the afterlife. They were servants in the palace and came to market every once in a while. That's where they had first met Sanura. They became a sort of surrogate family for Sanura and they had been the ones that suggested that she try to become an archangel. She decided to follow under Pachet after seeing her kindness towards the other spirits in the city. Sanura underwent very difficult training in order to gain the power of an archangel. It took about 45 years to complete the training and finally gained the right to become an archangel. After her orientation she had met Akhom and they became close friends soon after. It turned out that Akhom was 15 years her senior (in human years) and had been dead for nearly 800 years, giving up the option for life 3 times. Every soul in the afterlife is, in a sense, recycled back into the life stream. However rebirth and reincarnation are two different things. Rebirth is merely the soul being 'repaired' and sent back into the body of a fetus and being born back into the world. In a rebirth the soul retains little to no likeness of what it once was before it entered the living world. A reincarnation, however, is when the soul is placed back into the world of the living with everything it had in the previous life, with the exception of its memories. This could mean spiritual power, appearance, and thought process would all be the same. Most souls are merely reborn since reincarnation is a difficult and lengthy process. An archangel has the choice of being reborn or letting another soul go in his/her place (souls are only allowed to be reborn after a certain period of time in order to keep from overpopulation in the living world). Akhom gave up the chance to be reborn and decided to stay as an archangel claiming that 'his place was here'. He and Sanura had become very close and he became a sort of ridiculous father figure to her, always looking out for her well being and cheering her up when she needed it. Between Pachet, Panya, Bomani and Akhom, she felt like she had a home here and gave up rebirth once before. She wouldn't get another chance at it for another 200 years but she was happy in the afterlife, serving under Pachet. That is… until she met Bakura.

Sanura walked over the large pillars and leaned against one, sliding down until she was sitting with her knees up to her chest. Her arms crossed over her as if to keep the chill that was riding up her back away. She looked up at the stars. It was a simple assignment. To watch over Bakura, become close to him and keep him from destroying Egypt. She was to become his guardian angel in a way. However, it was never planned that she'd fall in love with him or even marry him. Technically she was still dead. She hadn't gone through the proper procedure for rebirth due to the circumstances. But then, why didn't anyone tell her or come get her? Her task had been completed, why keep her there on the living plane?

"Why…?" Tears welled up in her eyes. Was it all a sick joke to everyone? Was she there for the amusement of the gods? To watch and wait to see how long it would take her to figure out that it was all a lie? The angel that fell in love with her assignment, unheard of!

"Now you know that's not true…" A mysterious voice called out. Sanura turned her head swiftly. Standing up she wandered back into the room, looking around cautiously.

"Who, who's there?" She asked timidly.

"Over here." Sanura turned back around and looked at where she was sitting before. In her place was a black deeb staring at her with intense red eyes.

"A-Anput? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Talking to you." The deeb said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I do believe, however, that we continue this talk when you are awake."

"Awake? What are you talking about? I am awa-" There was a bright flash and Sanura felt a slight pulling sensation. Her eyes opened and she sat up with a start, realizing that she was in the bed on Hasani's roof, where she had originally fallen asleep. So it was all a dream. Well, a dream of a past that was real anyway. It was still in the wee hours of the morning. Only about two hours had passed at most.

"You weren't supposed to find out you know." Sanura snapped her head to her left. Anput was leaning casually against the raised edge of the roof.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me? You could have told me not to! You could have kept me from finding out!" Tears were beginning to collect in Sanura's eyes once again.

"Would telling you not to kept you from trying anyway?" Anput sighed, "And besides, I couldn't tell you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as you know, you really aren't supposed to be here in the world of the living but Ra made an exception with you after Pachet pleaded endlessly with him to let you stay. Originally you were supposed to finish your mission and come back, however, Pachet saw how you fell in love with Bakura and soon Bakura began to gain feelings for you as well. She couldn't stand to pull you two apart after seeing how happy you two were with each other. She didn't want to take your family away from you. The only problem was that no mortal can have knowledge of the afterlife, and especially not the knowledge of an archangel. If you had regained your memories then you would have not been allowed to stay.

"When I was leaving for the living world, Pachet came to me. She made me promise that I would not tell you or remind you of anything from the afterlife. This was so that you could remain here with the ones you love." By the time Anput was done, Sanura had curled up again with her knees to her chest. She was looking towards the ground, avoiding eye contact as tears flowed down her cheeks.

"I have to go back now don't I?" Sanura asked shakily. To tell you the truth, she did not want to know the answer to that question. She was afraid that it would be true. And, of course, it was. Anput nodded solemnly.

"Will I… have time to say goodbye?" Sanura asked.

Anput nodded, "You won't be going right away. I must finish my own mission before opening the gates to the spirit world. If you would like, you can head back to Thebes and I will come to retrieve you when the time is right. You do not need to go any farther with me." Sanura nodded numbly. Anput decided to take her leave, allowing Sanura to think about what to do. What to say. She left Anat in one of the stables and rode out of the village. Many of the villagers were still in the tavern so no one noticed as her silhouette faded in the distance.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**A/N: **Mwahahahahahahahahahaha, I'm so evil :) Anyways… what do you think will happen next? That was unexpected huh? Just one thing after another! And where's Bakura damn it? I forgot all about our favorite white-haired thief king. He's somewhere traveling the sandy desert on a pathetic horse from the palace XD Well; I guarantee that we'll meet him again in the next chapter. Which reminds me, only three chapters to go (I think), the meeting of the evil mastermind along with the super special awesome fight scene!!! (Forgive my abridged reference there), the super climatic ending! And finally, the epilogue which will lead right up into the next story in the series, courtesy of egyptology1996 :)


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